Charlottesville Office | 21H1 Research and Forecast Report

Andrew Boninti has over 35 years of experience in all aspects of the real estate market. Following graduation from the University of Virginia, (where he was also co-captain of the UVA basketball team), he became actively involved in commercial property valuation, real estate sales, leasing and land acquisition. His extensive experience in the development and implementation of marketing strategies for retail centers comes from years of hands-on involvement with prospective tenants and potential project buyers.

After serving as president of a mid-sized real estate and development company for six years, he founded the Rivanna Realty and Investment Company in 1989. Over time, he accumulated a large client base of national tenants, potential investors and purchasers interested in commercial property. Along with several property development projects, Rivanna Realty managed over 1 million square feet of commercial space for long-standing clients.

Andrew was the co-founder of Primary Investment and Management Company and is currently a partner in several commercially owned investment properties as well as a general partner in the development of retail properties. In January 2007, Andrew became Senior Vice President as a result of a merger with Rivanna Realty.

Carolyn Shears specializes in tenant representation and investment sales in Central Virginia. She advocates for and advises her clients through the complexities of real estate lease and sale transactions. Since 2007, she has been a Senior Vice President with the firm, and prior to that time she was the principal broker of her own commercial real estate firm.

Carolyn’s clients benefit from her market knowledge and expertise gained over the course of her extensive career which spans over thirty years. Carolyn is able to leverage her experience to attain the best possible outcome for her clients, whether that be keen negotiating to achieve cost savings for her corporate clients or finding the ideal location in spite of a market with limited inventory. She has assisted numerous Charlottesville-based companies with commercial real estate requirements in multiple markets--both domestic and international locations.

Focusing on investment sales enables her to parlay her over ten years of commercial real estate appraisal background in to a concrete asset that her investor clients have come to depend upon. She works hard to create a competitive market in order to maximize profits for her investor clients.

Leigh Hughes represents clients in the sale, purchase and leasing of retail, office, land and industrial properties. While serving as the primary retail broker in the Charlottesville office, Leigh has also been very successful working with office and industrial clients to satisfy their sale and leasing needs. Additionally, Leigh has represented buyers and sellers of retail and multi-family land. Focused on building quality relationships with his clients, Leigh has been successful at implementing sale and leasing strategies for multiple property types in his career.

Leigh is a native of Suffolk, VA and 1999 graduate of the University of Virginia, where he earned a bachelor of arts in history. Prior to a transition to Commercial Real Estate in 2003, he worked in the golf industry. Leigh got his start as a broker and property manager for Rivanna Realty, and joined the firm in 2007 upon its acquisition of Rivanna Realty. 

Leigh resides in the City of Charlottesville and is father to two wonderful children. He is an avid supporter of University of Virginia athletics.  

Jay O'Donnell is a Senior Vice President in the firm's Charlottesville, VA office. As a platform leader of the Colliers Retail Investment Property Group, Jay is an expert in advising private and institutional investors in the disposition and acquisition of retail assets throughout the mid-atlantic. Along with partner, Jeff Fritz, the team has sold over $400mm in assets over the last five years. Jay also performs occupier and agency services as well as user and investment sales in Charlottesville and central Virginia.

His previous position was with CBRE in their Washington, DC office where Jay was responsible for over 1 million square feet of existing inventory as well as product under development in the district, suburban Maryland and Northern Virginia. His responsibilities included tenant generation and prospecting, business development, multiple market analysis, landlord services and lease and sale negotiations before focusing on capital markets and joining the CBRE Mid-Atlantic Investment Team.  

Prior to his career in commercial real estate, Jay worked for a sports production firm in Winchester, VA. He graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Economics and enjoys being back in Charlottesville where he is an active member of the community.

With over 15 years of professional experience in the commercial real estate industry across multiple markets, Cass Kawecki leverages his acquired knowledge, resources and relationships to consistently create advantage for his clients. He has negotiated the closing of over $500 million in property transaction volume during his career to date. 
 
Cass has a tremendous depth of experience with investment property sales, having transacted across all property types and scales including land, multi-family, mixed-use, industrial, retail, office and adaptive redevelopment properties. His clients have included local and regional private investors and developers and institutional owners including lenders, special servicers and public and private REIT's. 
 
Through his occupier services role, tenants rely on Cass as a trusted advisor, advocate and strategic partner. His clients include many of the largest and fastest growing companies with a presence in the Charlottesville area. Through Cass' attention to financial detail and ability to lead a structured process that drives competition in the market, he helps his clients to achieve their occupancy requirements while exceeding their financial and strategic objectives. 

Cass' prior experience includes directing operations for the CBRE Private Client Group in Pittsburgh and leading sales and marketing for a mixed-use developer in Charlottesville. Cass is a recognized expert in his field and has taught graduate-level real estate development and finance courses in his spare time for both Carnegie Mellon and the University of Virginia.

I  joined the Charlottesville office in 2018 as a Vice President. I was born in Central Virginia and raised in Albemarle County. Being raised in Central Virginia gives me an extensive knowledge of the real estate market here and allows me to find the perfect location for my clients.

My diverse assignments include manufacturing facilities, mixed office and industrial flex properties, build-to-suit projects, and the full range of warehouse and distribution requirements. I have also represented clients with out-of-market distribution / logistics ventures and have a solid understanding of multi-faceted elements required. I approach each assignment with diligence and a bottom-line mindset – determined to optimize the value of clients’ real estate transactions.

My territory  stretches along the Interstate 81 corridor, covering Central Virginia , The Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. My large territory allows me to have a regional understanding of the current state of the industrial real estate market.